In its annual report, the company said card payments started in October last year and have been activated in nearly 3,000 stores.
Card payments drive bigger baskets
Philippine Seven, which owns 53 percent of its 4,500-strong branch network while the rest are franchised, previously accepted payments through cash and mobile wallets. Its card payments rollout is now opening up a broader customer base and potentially higher-spending segments.
“Early results from this initiative have been highly encouraging; providing customers with expanded, convenient payment options has not only attracted new foot traffic but also contributed to a noticeable increase in average basket size,” Philippine Seven said in the report.
It added that card payments now account for about 7 percent of sales in those locations.
This comes as the group recorded a nearly 1 percent drop in same-store sales in 2025, reversing the 3.2 percent growth in 2024, as the Philippine economy slowed. The firm also blamed poor weather conditions and natural calamities.
Expansion shifts beyond Metro Manila
It recorded the sharpest decline in Metro Manila at 2.6 percent, while the Visayas slipped 1.1 percent and Mindanao posted growth of 1.5 percent in same-store sales.
Net income slipped 5.5 percent to P3.6 billion in 2025, while system-wide sales rose 6.4 percent as the company increased its store count by 361 outlets.
The company’s growth outside Metro Manila is also driving expansion moves.
It said in its annual report it plans to open two “major distribution centers” in the Visayas and Mindanao, expected to open in early 2026.
“These facilities will bolster logistics capacity and underpin PSC’s aggressive expansion in key regional markets,” the annual report showed.
It plans to open over 500 stores this year to reach its target of 5,000 store count by the end of 2026, its annual report showed.
Miguel R. Camus has been a reporter covering various domestic business topics since 2009.
